Technology, jar lids and experimental music

It has been nearly a year since Richard Orton, electronic and experimental musician extraordinaire, passed away. So on Thursday 20^th February, his life and works were commemorated at DMU, with featured speakers and performers performing both his and their own experimental pieces.

But what is experimental music? When I did my music GCSE, I never really understood it. We were taught that it was basically composers using sounds rather than notes, reading from a score made up of pictures and symbols. To me at the time, it just sounded like noise.

Yesterday’s event, “A life in Music: Richard Orton in Memoriam” showed me otherwise. I knew it wasn’t going to be regular music in the strictest sense when I saw the performers’ main instrument: jam jar lids that, when tapped or clicked in a certain way near an open mouth, actually make an impressive percussion sound.

But there was more than that. A simple mix of the above percussion, vocalisations similar to those used in beatboxing made for a highly original performance with scratched or looped electronic sounds coming and going in waves.

To finish with, speakers Archer Endrich, Andrew Bentley and DMU’s John Richards performed Orton’s classic music theatre work “Mug Grunt”. At first glance, it was just plain weird. Three men synchronically grunting and moving mugs? But it’s unique rhythms and the sheer expression and complexity behind the whole event showed me one thing: Music is more than just notes. 

Grace Liu

Inspiring Books

Cultural Exchanges at DMU has been brilliant this week and has exceeded all of my expectations for it (they were high anyway). 

Today, I went to an event called: What book changed your life? I didn't totally know what was going to happen or if it was going to be interesting but I really enjoyed myself.

It was really thought-provoking when people shared their experiences in what books have inspired them or had an impact on them and it seemed that books meant different things to different people. However, a central theme was that a view or perspective had been shifted after reading their chosen book - weird to think a book can do that to someone!

What was even better was that some of the books I'd never heard of! Books can connect with people in a variety of ways but the passion for books is still there. 

I was sure to write down all of the books for future references and to add to my "To Read" list!

Sarah Sarsby

Melvyn Bragg: Imagination and Memory

There is something of the gnostic about Melvyn Bragg.  It seems that he has walked his path calmly and quietly, seeking solitude when required, remaining untainted by the trappings of success and celebrity.  

There are signs, of course, that he is not a common man.  He tells us that he has a packet of fruit pastilles in his pocket to keep him going if the interview overruns the allotted hour; they were given to him by Dame Judi Dench that morning.  ‘How’s that for a bit of name dropping?’ he laughs.   

The interview is funny and tender in equal measures.  He speaks of his life with clarity, with humility, with honesty.  I am deeply moved when he talks about his 1994 interview with Dennis Potter, a piece of televisual history that left a lasting impression on me.  However, it is the gentle remembrances of his mother, even when she was suffering from dementia, that inspire me the most.  In Lord Bragg’s own words; ‘imagination and memory are the only two things that matter.’  

I leave feeling that this is a man at peace with himself, who considers himself blessed.  A truly inspirational evening, which I feel very privileged to have been a part of.   

S C Davies

70s Britain: the worst of times, the best of times?

I thoroughly enjoyed Dominic Sandbrook’s TV series ‘70s Britain’ and was intrigued to see how he would attack such a broad subject area in one short hour.  The answer was, with great aplomb.  His delivery in the flesh was as sharp and witty as his on-screen persona, his observations on the politics of the period intercut with references to popular culture.  At times it was laugh out loud funny, at others thought-provoking, but always interesting.    

This talk was not just for those who remembered the 70s, although admittedly most of us could recall the winter of discontent.  As Dominic reminded us, selective memory and media emphasis can skew the facts.  For example, with regard to pop music, we tend to think that the 70s was all about punk and the Sex Pistols.  In fact, Abba and the BeeGees topped the charts, while the most influential artist from the decade was undoubtedly the King of Glam Rock and this year’s Brit Award winner, David Bowie.  

There were political and economic disasters aplenty, but on the other hand we embraced Europe and women’s rights leapt forward with the election of our first female Prime Minister.  Yes, there were strikes and power cuts, but the three day week was great when you were a kid, and our parents had never before enjoyed such a high standard of living.  

I eagerly await Dominic’s next series, finding him to be one of the most fascinating and accessible historians of our times.  

S C Davies

The Not So Daunting Third Year Publications

Today, I went to the Demon Crew event to see the third year students introduce their work at the Cultural Exchanges festival at DMU.

I wasn't really sure what to expect but, I went with high hopes and I couldn't wait to see where I'll be in 2 years time (although the idea of public speaking terrifies me). The students had some amazingly creative ideas that I fed off and really enjoyed hearing about.

Everyone seemed to really enjoy talking about their work and it gave me confidence. I can't wait for it to happen me and I was thoroughly impressed with the event!

Sarah Sarsby

Crystal Clear is 10! - celebrating the ideas of such imaginative writers

'Crystal Clear is 10!' - I'm pretty sure after tonight, I will attend more spoken reading and open mic nights.

I never thought I would hear a poem about Andy Warhol playing cricket in heaven, but then again the thought had not occurred to me either. It was brilliant. It leads me to think once again that I can write about anything, because the more unusual it is the better. There was some real talent there tonight, Andrew Graves poem about being a 'Middle Aged Mod' was one that definitely made me smile, so unique and once again inspired me to think about my own work.

Julie Boden was also another great talent tonight, 'Moth Screams' and 'Seagull Address' were the two that were read, and they were amazing. Poetry that has been wonderfully written and spoken. Again, brilliant ideas too!

Jonathan Taylor read a piece he called "He never writes to me no more": a story for children, which was funny but at the same time touching. He writes about the mind of a ten year old boy and a relationship with his grandma, maybe we all could associate ourselves with it because we were all ten years old once, and my Grandma is always giving me biscuits to eat (or cake because cake is good too!).

What's better is we got given a free anthology, the first one by Crystal Clear. Freebies. Don't you just love them? Again I wish all these writers the best for the future.


Claire McGowan.

Post-graduate writers at DMU, an inspiration to me

I think it is always important to support people, and the best possible opportunity I had to do this was attending a talk which featured post-graduates on the DMU Creative Writing course, sharing their work. I was completely inspired by them, their work was absolutely extraordinary.

Excited, was an understatement. They inspired me so much, because one day, I hope to be where they are now. All of them were so confident in their words, and it made me realize that, if I work hard enough, perhaps people will enjoy listening to my words, as well as reading them.

It was fantastic to hear both a mix of poetry and short stories, especially as I enjoy writing both of those genres, and as I listened to them speaking, it helped me think about how I could be making my words better, so people enjoy them out loud too.

Since starting the Creative Writing course, I've learned that you can write about anything really. I loved listening to a poem that featured sweets, such as a green jelly baby, a dolly mixture and a liquorice allsort. It made me and the audience laugh as a comical piece. It's starting to make me think that writing about my love for 'Mini eggs' is not all a bad idea. It was a very enjoyable experience, and I wish them well for the future.

Claire McGowan

Patrick Wildgust & Black Page

Patrick Wildgust came in and gave a talk on Laurence Sterne, in particular Patrick focused on Sterne's most famous piece of work, Tristram Shandy. I think it is fair to say that for me, it was a talk that had me awe-struck from beginning to end. I am not an artistic person, and was nervous when Patrick announced the book was an 'art' but, I shouldn't have been. In fact, I wish the talk was longer than an hour.


I was fascinated how one book can be visually transformed in so many different ways. How one page named the 'black page' had become such an interest to so many people. What also amazed me was the idea Patrick had got into contact with artists and writers, and asked them to create a 'black page', and how many different variations of this have been created. Mine had a blackened page with a heart in black in the middle. (I wish I could have described that more artistically...). But there were so many different variations, it was amazing to see.


It was one of the most unusual books that I have ever come across, but actually that suits me. As a creative writer and English Literature student, I rather enjoy the more unusual pieces of work. It's one of the most imaginative books I've come across.


Will I be buying a copy of Tristram Shandy after this talk? Yes. I think I most definitely will. I just hope Waterstones have some copies left.


Claire McGowan. 

Who? Carol Watts?

Carol Watts, Northampton bread poet, graced us with her presence at DMU to give us an insight into her multi-media poetry.

Carol Watts is inspirational to young writers not just by merit of the content of her work, but also a true champion of "new media" formats. Transforming writing into art and videos is no easy task, but Carol's gamble pays off and is sure to fascinate writers of all ages and disciplines.

One specific part that captivated me and caught my eye was the musicality of the pieces. It really did bring the event to life. Not only did she include the audience, but she even sang a few lines for us. The tone, the rhythm and the melody was magnificent.

I know now Carol Watts to be phenomenal poet who really did give us all something to think about: that no matter who you are, what you do, or where you are, inspiration is all around us. 

Leah Stafford 

Student films - definitely not amateur

A still from... actually, it says in the image. By Sammie Williams.

I think one of the things that has struck me most about the Cultural Exchanges festival is the simply fantastic output from DMU's creative students. Whether it was the Fine Art department's Art Auction or Creative Writing's own showcase pieces the week has been bubbling with originality and vision. But the event that has struck me most was the 1 too 3 showcase, an exhibition of video pieces from across the university.

And quite frankly, the films on show were stunning. The pieces on display ranged from the playful intimacy of Red Wine Hangover to the unsettling surrealism of the Idiosyncracies dance video and seemed to cover everything in between.

What with drama, comedy, horror and a good dose of fantasy, the films showed eager young creators at their best - doing what they love and getting to show the end result to the public.

Two pieces really stood out for me.  One was Mechanical Angel, a strange mash-up between science fiction and a haunting music video.  It put me very much in mind of The Cabinet of Dr Caligari and of course the Expressionism movement that inspired it.

 

The other was Sean Goldthorpe's piece that depicted a relationship in reverse - sometimes literally - from the unfortunate break-up to the couple's chance meeting. The cinematography in this piece was wonderful, including slow, lingering shots to set the rather gloomy mood and even using a black screen to divide the couple, reflecting the distance between them.

All the videos mentioned here are going to be on display again tomorrow throughout the day and are totally free of charge, I highly recommend checking them out at Newarke Houses Museum (10-6, Friday 1st March).

 

Lex Griffiths

Light at the End of the Tunnel

I've been in a bit of a dark place for a while now but I must say things are finally looking up.

Without going into too much detail, things have taken a downwards spiral recently: my butter has been spoiled, someone stole my dog and worst of all my kill death ratio on Call of Duty has fallen below 1.6

But now I can say with great satisfaction that tonight I will not cry myself to sleep. For next week, here at De Montfort University, there will be the Cultural eXchanges week. It will be the Bomb! A complete boss: so totally Rad it's not even funny. They have it all: a vast and divergent selection of top quality shit ranging from more conventional subjects such as poetry and writers' lectures to discussions on whether the social enterprise is an alternative to capitalism.

Book your places now!


Matthew King

Concrete canapes

Whilst considering the selection of canapes at the recent event celebrating the Gomringer Collection at DMU, I wondered if there was a deeper meaning to the chives pointing in an easterly direction from their perch on top of the rosettes of cream cheese. An ill wind blowing through higher education perhaps?

Did the uniform arrangement of the sesame-coated, Stilton scone-like wheels comment on contemporary society in some way?

And how on earth had someone managed to cut poppadoms into perfect pizza triangle shapes without them shattering into tiny pieces? (this was explained by a fellow attendee who suggested they had been cut into shape prior to cooking. Oh yes, of course.)

Guests were justified in thinking maybe the food on offer was imitating Concrete Art. The event on 13th September was held to welcome back avant garde Swiss poet Eugen Gomringer, himself partly inspired by the Concrete Art movement to develop Concrete Poetry as a new poetic form in the 1950s. Concrete poetry is a playful and creative use of language, deceptively simple yet adding a further dimension to a poem. It uses the typographical arrangement of words together with the blank space of the page to suggest meaning, as well as from the words themselves.

Eugen Gomringer is ‘the daddy’ to this movement, and DMU is priveleged to house a collection of many of his seminal poems in the Clephan Building. The collection was printed by Francesco Conz, a collector of concrete poetry, and was originally donated to DMU in 1996. The donation was organised by former Professor of English and Cultural Studies Nicholas Zurbrugg, not only an influential academic but also a noted concrete poet and artist.

Gomringer, now in his 80s, was modest and charming as he spoke of viewing the collection again. I know for a fact the concept of concrete poetry is taught in primary schools, and every year his poems are seen by a new audience at DMU as another intake of Humanities, and now Art and Design students, make their way around Clephan building. Some will stop and look at the collection, some won’t, yet the poems are there.

Take a look next time you are passing the second floor lecture theatre. What do you think of them?

And in case you were wondering, the canapes looked and tasted very nice thank you and that was all they were meant to do.

Sally Jack, DMU

Editor's note: This post has been published long after the event (in September 2011) owing to blog-problems. Usually I would not publish anything so belatedly but Gomringer is so distinguished that it seems worth including a belated review. And the works will remain on display in the Clephan Building during Cultural eXchanges week.